This is a first in a series of discussion about doing short sales for different services.  The purpose of these upcoming articles is to highlights some of the tips, tricks and secrets we have uncovered negotiating Bank of America short sales.  These tips and tricks should help with your experience and increase your chances of a successful short sale with Bank of America.

Click HERE to see if you Qualify for a Bank of America Short Sale

The biggest advantage of doing a short sale with Bank of America is that they utilize Equator.com for document management.  Equator.com is a web-based servicing platform that allows the agent, homeowner and servicer to track the progress of the short sale from an internet portal.   The listing agent can uploaded seller documents, such as tax returns, W-2s, etc., into the website without the risk of items getting lost.  Also, the servicer can negotiate offers and track the sales process and tasking system to make sure the transaction is on track.

Shandrow Group has completed numerous Bank of America short sales on Equator.com and has an almost 100% success rate negotiating short sales without deficiency judgements with Bank of America.

Click HERE to see if you Qualify for a Bank of America Short Sale

This is a great article on Huffington Post about why bank can not rent home to the previous home owner–it is currently prohibited by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac–two of the largest investors in home mortgages.  Here is the full story. . .

Housing investors and advocates are embracing a new strategy to keep struggling borrowers in their homes: Purchasing houses from homeowners who can no longer afford to pay the mortgage, then leasing the property back to the previous owner at an affordable rent.

The strategy looks like a winner for both homeowners and banks. The homeowner gets to stay put and the stress of paying what has become an unaffordable mortgage disappears. Meanwhile, the lender doesn’t have to foreclose, which is costly and usually results in a vacant home they have to maintain until they can sell.

The problem is the strategy is prohibited. The nation’s major banks and mortgage companies, as well as housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, typically bar the previous owners from remaining in their properties after homes are sold for less than the value of the outstanding mortgage — what is known as a short sale.

With nearly one in every five homeowners owing more on their home than it’s worth, and millions of homeowners on the verge of foreclosure, short sales are on the rise. Last year, there were 26,000 more short sales than in 2010, according to Hope Now.

At the same time short sales are increasing, there continues to be an oversupply of vacant homes, with nearly one in every ten houses sitting empty, according to the Census Bureau. The flood of vacant homes is hampering a rebound of the housing market, say economists, by keeping home prices low. It makes sense, then, to try to avoid bringing more empty homes onto the market.

But in fact, the banks refuse to allow these kinds of transactions unless the buyers sign legal documents promising they will not rent the property back to the previous owner. The restrictions are designed to limit fraud: If a struggling homeowner can sell the property for less than what they owe the bank and remain in the home, they could find a partner to buy the home at the reduced price, and together they could then sell the home and split any profits.

However, this seemingly sensible provision is now having an unintended effect, staunching what many experts portray as a promising way to bolster the troubled housing market: inviting investors to buy distressed homes en masse and then rent them out.

“All these government agencies, Fannie, Freddie, the Federal Housing Administration, they all have this policy,” said Jorge Newbery, director of American Homeowner Preservation, a company that buys homes and rents them back to the previous owner. “They have all this rhetoric about keeping families in their homes, but then it’s just pushed to the side. What they’re doing just seems punitive and illogical.”

The short sale policy is recent. Freddie Mac and Bank of America adopted it in summer 2010, with Citigroup following in early 2011. Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase declined to comment on the timing of their policies.

Investors say the policy is just bad business. “Short sales are a third of our market, and they’d sell faster if we could just rent them back to the previous owner,” said Steve Schmitz, chief executive officer of American Residential Properties, a firm that bought and then rented over 500 foreclosed properties in the Southwest. The firm is also nearing completion on a $100 million deal to acquire an additional 800 foreclosed properties.

According to Schmitz, the prohibition on short sales also makes impossible what could otherwise be a win-win transaction.

“The best deal for everyone is where we can lease it back to the previous owner,” he said. “The homeowner isn’t being kicked out. Their kids can stay in the same schools. For us, we don’t have to pay a leasing commission or have a vacant home. The bank wins because we’d be willing to pay more money for that house if we could lease it back to the previous owner. The community wins because there’s never a vacant home in the neighborhood.”

Ivy Zelman, chief executive officer at financial analysis firm Zelman and Associates, disagrees with the assertion that the restrictions impede short sales. “I don’t think it’s an issue for the single-family rental market, as investors rehab homes and have enough tenants to rent them to other than the former mortgage holders.”

Last month, the Federal Reserve Board released a 26-page paper that supports converting foreclosed properties to rental units. According to that report, now is an unusually good time for such a strategy because demand for owner-occupied homes remains low, demand for rental properties is rising, and the problem of banks’ continued hesitance to offer mortgages to everyday Americans means the situation won’t resolve anytime soon. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, is also currently reviewing proposals from potential buyers to convert the two companies’ foreclosed properties to rental units.

Though the Fed report and the FHFA program focused on already-foreclosed properties — as opposed to short sales, which function as an alternative to foreclosure — the same argument applies to both, said Newbery of the American Homeowner Preservation.

“If you have a borrower who can’t afford to own the home anymore, but can afford to rent it, and wants to rent it, why wouldn’t you let them?” Newbery said. “Why would you bring another vacant home on to this market if you didn’t have to?”

What do you think this sign tells us about the real estate ?

We want to congratulate BLB Resources’ on their recent HUD performance report. For the period of December 5, 2010 – December 31, 2010, BLB Resources was ranked at the top. They received a # 1 ranking for contract region 1S (AZ, ID, NV), and #2 ranking for contract region 2S (AK,CA, HI, OR, WA) when compared against all of the other AM companies nationwide.

You can find BLB Resources’ Performance Monitoring data by following the link below. Please note: AMs and FSMs were measured on their ability to move HUD properties through the disposition process.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/reo/reohome.cfm

If you have questions about BLB Resources or our HUD services in Long Beach, CA, feel free to contact me @ 562-364-9505 or mark@shandrowgroup.com

One Less Foreclosure.

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
Real Estate Broker
office 562-364-9505 ext 100
mark@shandrowgroup.com
Shandrow Group
3970 Atlantic Ave., 210
Long Beach, CA  90807
follow my story at http://markshandrow.com

Over at Shandrow Group, we host HUD California LLB Mastermind Groups to help real estate brokers and homeowners understand how to list and buy HUD properties in Long Beach, CA.

For the first time, we hosted a live HUD Mastermind event at a local restaurant.

The purpose of the HUD Mastermind session is to share ideas that are successful in selling HUD Homes, collaborate to help HUD achieve their goals of home ownership, and share ideas of marketing outreach and educate buyer’s and agents and lenders about a HUD home process.

Our discussion focuses on challenges and obstacles that a local listing broker will encounter with HUD properties from opening to closing.

HUD Mastermind attendees are combination of agent and buyer. Attendees receive handouts, photo lists, sales guide and other materials that help them to understand how to list and sell HUD Homes in Los Angeles County.

We discovered some distinct differences in the topics and interests of all the attendees. Some of the topics we focused on involved the differences between buyers and agents.

So, these are the main points that we took away from the HUD California LLB Mastermind Group session:

1. Separate buyer and agents into different types of presentations.
2. Separating the buyer at even further down into their monthly payment range to get them to automatically select their price point.
3. Scheduling of presentations for the entire year.
4. Collecting agent hit list.
5. Have your buyer’s agent doing a door knock or going around the listed property.
6. Educate the buyer community about the HUD properties in their neighborhood.

Honestly, what we discovered was that, when it comes to HUD properties, buyer and agent advice is extremely different. Having buyers and agents in the same room only amplifies the differences in process and expectations.

We found that holding a seminar session during a meal time was distracting. Serving food during the session created too much distraction for attendees and didn’t allow people to fully engage in the content that we delivered.

As part of our HUD California LLB Mastermind Group program we are going to schedule monthly orientation sessions so new realtors can visit our facility and ask questions about programs and best practices. For realtors in different areas, we will hold sessions in different counties to reach all the agents. These may be held at least once a month.

If you have questions about our next HUD California LLB Mastermind Group in Long Beach, CA, feel free to contact me @ 562-364-9505 or mark@shandrowgroup.com

One Less Foreclosure.

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
Real Estate Broker
office 562-364-9505 ext 100
mark@shandrowgroup.com
Shandrow Group
3970 Atlantic Ave., 210
Long Beach, CA  90807
follow my story at http://markshandrow.com

We’re live in a nice little neighborhood in Compton, CA.

Adam and I walk you through this 2 bedroom, 1 bath Compton house to show you the loft ceilings and other features.

We’re walking through before the initial trash-out, so it’s a little messy. And we’re trying to be super quiet because we don’t want to disrupt your closest neighbor.

Just take a look:

The house does need work, but it’s a great fixer-upper for the right person.

In two weeks, the house will be spotless, painted and ready for sale, so be sure to check www.shandrowgroup.com.

If you would like to take a look at this house, or be notified when it comes on the market, just contact me @ 562-364-9505 or mark@shandrowgroup.com

One Less Foreclosure.

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
Real Estate Broker
office 562-364-9505 ext 100
mark@shandrowgroup.com
Shandrow Group
3970 Atlantic Ave., 210
Long Beach, CA  90807
follow my story at http://markshandrow.com

Whether you’ve been foreclosed on, opted for a strategic default, sold your house in a short sale or declared bankruptcy, you’re biggest concern is usually how long you must wait to own a home again.

The following list will help you to determine the lender regulations for your particular situation.

Waiting Period Requirements to Buy a House Again

The waiting periods in order to qualify for a home loan after a foreclosure, deed-in-lieu, short sale and bankruptcy varies both by the government agency purchasing or insuring the loan as well as the dollar amount of the loan.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

1. Foreclosure is 3 years
2. Deed-in Lieu is 3 years
3. Short Sale is 3 years
4. Bankruptcy is 2 years

Veterans Administration (VA)

1. Foreclosure is 2 years
2. Deed-in Lieu is 2 years
3. Short Sale is 2 years
4. Bankruptcy is 2 years

Conventional Conforming (FNMA/FHLMC)

1. Foreclosure is 7 years
2. Deed-in-Lieu is 4 years < 80% LTV and 5 years > 80% LTV for primary residences. 7 years for second homes and investment properties regardless of LTV.
3. Short Sales is 2 years < 80% LTV and 5 years > 80% LTV and 7 years > 90% LTV
4. Bankruptcy is 4 years

Conventional Non-Conforming (JUMBO)

1. Foreclosure is 7 years
2. Deed-in-Lieu is 7 years
3. Short Sale is 7 years
4. Bankruptcy is 7 years

If you have questions about how long you have to wait to buy a house again in Long Beach, CA, feel free to contact me @ 562-364-9505 or mark@shandrowgroup.com

One Less Foreclosure.

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
Real Estate Broker
office 562-364-9505 ext 100
mark@shandrowgroup.com
Shandrow Group
3970 Atlantic Ave., 210
Long Beach, CA  90807
follow my story at http://markshandrow.com

The bill, SB 931, adds a significant provision to the California anti-deficiency laws which protect California borrowers from deficiency liability on real estate secured obligations. The purpose of SB 931 is to facilitate short sales of distressed residential property and avoid the burdens of foreclosure sales while preserving for the borrower the anti-deficiency protections that are already set forth in Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) Sections 580b and 580d.

SB 931 adopts new CCP 580e which ensures that no judgment shall be rendered for any deficiency on a note secured by a first deed of trust encumbering a dwelling of not more than four units in any situation where the trustor sells the dwelling for less than the remaining balance of the secured indebtedness due at the time of sale, if the beneficiary under the first deed of trust consents to the sale in writing. The beneficiary’s written consent to the sale will obligate the beneficiary to accept the sale proceeds as full payment of the secured obligation.

You can read the new bill, SB 931, by clicking here.

The intent of SB 931 is to protect a homeowners in connection with a short sale on their residence. California homeowners pursuing short sales on their first mortgage will no longer need to worry about their lender seeking a deficiency judgment after a short sale.

Bill SB 931 is not intended to protect an entity or an individual borrowing on a commercial loan secured by one or more consumer residences, which would be a case where an individual or limited liability company or partnership is a borrower on a construction loan to build residential units.

Some concerns have been raised that CCP 580e could provide protection for a real estate developer following consensual sales of  new  residences for less than the outstanding balance of the construction loan, as CCP 580e is not limited in its protection of homeowners, nor does it require that the residential property be occupied by the homeowner, nor limit the residential property to only one building (of 1-4 units).

The bottom line is that before bill SB 931 was added, homeowners received more deficiency protection when opting for foreclosure instead of a short sale.

This bill will now provide the homeowner by providing the same deficiency protections as a short sale.

If you have questions about bill SB 931 or Short Sales in Long Beach, CA, feel free to contact me @ 562-364-9505 or mark@shandrowgroup.com

One Less Foreclosure.

Sincerely,

Mark Shandrow
Real Estate Broker
office 562-364-9505 ext 100
mark@shandrowgroup.com
Shandrow Group
3970 Atlantic Ave., 210
Long Beach, CA  90807
follow my story at http://markshandrow.com

Mark Shandrow is different than most real-estate broker.  His business objective is to leverage the power of technology, great systems and motivated people, to provide superior results.  On average, Mark sells one home every other day at 102% above list price.

Marketing is a critical component in selling a home today, especially with the availability of information on the Internet. Mark Shandrow and Shandrow Group websites are visited by more than 3,000 unique users every month.  The more EYEs looking at your home for sale means more showings, more offers and, ultimately, more money.

Watch the above video now to learn about the Care Free Listing Program.

One Less Foreclosure!

It’s not too late.

Many home owners find themselves falling behind in mortgage payments while they try to keep the family afloat.

The recession, unemployment, health care expenses, legal fees, unanticipated bills… we’ve all been there and we know what it feels like to lose hope.

Hardship is difficult under any circumstance, but losing a home as a result of foreclosure or bankruptcy can destroy your credit in the long-term and feel like failure in the short-term.

There is a foreclosure solution: a Real Estate Short Sale.

You don’t have to wait until the bank knocks on your door. New legislation and financing reforms can help you avoid the pain and trauma of foreclosure.

It’s not too late to take back your life before you’re forced into another situation you can’t control.

A licensed loss mitigation professional from Shandrow Group will contact you within 24 hours.